Headrest



Jan. 15, 1952 A, M, THOMA 2,582,571

.HEADREST Filed Jan. 5l, 1950 Patented Jan. 15, v1952 gifs.;

, UNITED: vS-'MI'IES IAIENT OFFICE t v r HEADREST" 'Amis Thomanosaniacaiif. j Application January 31, 1950-,V`Serial No. 141,423A

' comms. (131.1554174) l Ihe present inventionrelates toy improvements inA headrests. It isintended in particular for attachment to the back of seats inv buses and trains to support a passengers head and reduce annoying noises. :VH An object of the invention is t0, vDIQvide a lheadrest that is designed to closely coniine the sides of a persons head, and at the Sametimehold the head of the user comfortably in place. When in use, the headrest will restrain forward and lateralmovement of the persons head, while asleep, or upon sudden deacceleration of the vehcle.- At the same time the cushions of the headrest'ilt over the persons ears, thus substantially precludingnoise Vfromannoying the passenger. l

Moreover.' I propose to'pro'vide a headrest having head-embracing cushions.' which may be adjusted with facility and ease to accommodate the restato different head sizes.

y Other objects and, advantages will appear. as the specication proceeds, and the novelpfeatures vof theinvention will be set forth inthe claims hereunto appended.

Drawing For a better understanding of the invention, reference should be had to the accompanying drawing. forming part of this invention, in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of my headrest with the cushions thereof embracing opposing sides of a persons head; and

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along the plane II-II of Figure 1.

While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention, it should be understood that various changes, or modifications, may be made within the scope of the annexed claims without departing from the'spirit thereof.

Detailed description Referring to the drawing in detail, I have disclosed a pair of cushions indicated generally at A, which are arranged in spaced-apart relation with 4one another for the reception of a persons head B therebetween.

These cushions are mounted on a` band C that is designed to encircle the back D of a, seat in a bus, train, or the like. As the speciiication continues, it will be clear that the band C may be adjusted with respect to the back D so that the cushions A will embrace opposite sides of the person's head and cover the latters ears.

front and rear surfaces, respectively, 'ofi the-seat back. These reaches are interconnected-I by end loops-i2. 'The front reach of the band defines overlapping-sections Illa and lbvthat are adjustable tol permit thel cushions A to be moved toward orv away from one anotherfdepending upon the size of the occupantshead. 's

Any suitable fastening connection 14,` for'infstance a clamp, hooks and eyes, buckle; buttons, or the like,'may be utilized for adjusting the sections Illa and lub. In Figure 1, I show the rear reach "Il of the band having sections I la and Hb `adjustably connected together :by la'. buckle I5, or any other fastening means that may be appropriate.: r

It will be understood that the band Cvis fashioned from desired material, for instance nylon or canvas. This band is adapted for attachment at the proper elevation on the back D to' present the cushions A at the height of theuoccupa'nts head, as shown in Figure 2. 4,

The cushions A are identical with one another. Each includes a triangularlyfshaped base lI6 of semi-rigid material. vThe sides Ilia of` these base'sa're `butted'against and secured tothe sections Illa and 10b, respectively, of the front reach of the band (see Figure 1). The inclined sides [6b of the bases converge relatively to one another in a direction toward the band reach I0.

Pads l1 of quite resilient material, for in stance soft sponge-rubber, are secured to the inclined sides I 6b of the bases and project toward one another, while extending away from the front reach I0 of the band. Any suitable resilient cushioning material may be employed for these pads, and it is not intended that the persons head be clamped rigidly in position.

It will be noted that the dot-dash line illustrations in Figure 1 disclose the tips I'Ia of the pads disposed closer together at the front of they cushions than the rear parts of these pads, prior to introduction of the persons head B therebetween. Therefore, there is a tendency for the pads to urge the head rearwardly when it is in position. The head is closely coni-ined and forward movement of the head is restrained by the mild, but comfortably, clamping action established by the pads upon the head. Moreover, Figure 1 shows the back of the head and the persons neck as being spaced from the pads so as to `permit the free circulation ofair at the back of the head and neckwhile still holding the persons head in place.

The band C provides reaches I0 and Il, which 55 The full line position of the pads in Figure 1 show them flexed to present slightly concaved surfaces I1b overlying the persons ears. YIn

Y' other words, the resilient pads are compressed during the insertion of the head. Upon withdrawing the head, the .pads will bulge toward one another and assume their extended positions shown by the dot-dash lines in Figure 1.

Moreover, it will be seen that the cushions A are disposed .on opposite sides of the adjustable connection 14j, Accordingly, theflatterf maybe changed to Imove the cushions toward and" away from one another to accommodate the head Siae Inasmuch as the soft pads I1 areV not attached directly to the reach lll'of the bandv g,

of the user.

C, they may be flexed to permit easy introduction of the persons head therebetween. Howw" ever, the semi-rigid bases If@ will gire; the Vpads: suflicientrsupport or backing to hold them in v operative position. Y

Summary of operation` l The operation ofgrmy headrest is summarized briefly asfollows: f Y

As, the first. step, the bandfCl is placed; Varougrirl the back. D ofthe chair or ,seat atrthe 4 proper j elevation thereunto present the cushions .Atina positionier embracingvthetpersonshead B.l The buckle I5, or,A other fastening` means, is tightened so;v as' to retain the, bandl place. able fasteners I4 are. attached together toy give theV desired' spacing betweenthe. resilientpads Ll. for a comfortable insertion of the persons head, whileY at. thesame time providing, a mild clamping actionon the introduced head.

With. the person4 sitting linthe chair or' seat. v;

the users head is moved rearwardlyy betweenv the tins` Ilav of the resilient gpads.V The latter will yield, allowing the head. to be moved against the reach IIL of .the band C.` Theresilient pads urge theY head rearwardly when it is in position., and

willY closely confine the head. Therewilll be,Y a tendency Vfor `forward movement of. the ,head to be restrained, .Of course,A the padsA willrestrain The adjust clined sides of the lbases and projecting toward l"one another and away from Vthe front reach of the band to embrace opposite sides of a persons headintroduced therebetween.

' 2: The combination dened in claim 1, ln

which; themdssare-made of soft sponge-rubber.

3. Inaheadrest of the character described: a

"' band" 'providing reaches designed to extend across the front and the rear surfaces, respectively; of al seat back; a pair of--cushions having base por-tionsdisposed -in spaced-apart-relation lateral rolling of the-usershead. However, lixn.-

ited` movement of. the head is provided.. although 4'..

the' head not clamped .rigidly imposition.

with onelanother and securedl to the `froif'rtfreach off the bandi;` the outerendslof the cushions'projf jectng toward each other andk away fromthe front reach of' the band1 to embracefopposite sides'Y 'of4 a persons headj introduced trierebetweenpthebase-portions of the cushions being disposed farther-apartthanthe outerV ends soj as to'giv'e freedom ltothe-back ofth'e head andneck ofthefperson for air tofflow thereby:4 1

' Alanis-M.' frnoitm.y

.. sername-Esi errno..

The following references are of recordijinfthe file of this patent:v

'UNITEDSTATES 2mm;

Number Name-V 660,694 Waterbury Oct; 30;'1900 V933,4@71- Leahy ..fSept.\-f7., 11909 2,267,103 Irelandi -Dec. 2351941' 2,464,435

Conrad-t Mar. -153'1'1-9'49 vDate l 

